Bellavista Tramway
| Bellavista Tramway | |||||||||||||
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| Route length: | 0.4 km | ||||||||||||
| Gauge : | 600 mm ( narrow gauge ) | ||||||||||||
| Maximum slope : | 38 ‰ | ||||||||||||
| Minimum radius : | 30 m | ||||||||||||
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The Bellavista Tramway was a horse-drawn tram in the Canton of Ticino in Switzerland . It was in operation from 1891 to 1938 and connected the Bellavista stop of the Monte Generoso railway with a hotel above Mendrisio .
history
In 1867 the doctor and politician Carlo Pasta opened the Hotel Bellavista to promote tourism in Mendrisiotto . The four-story building had 60 rooms, a large dining room and attractions such as a telescope, library and billiard room. The guests reached the hotel on mules or by sedan chair . On June 4, 1890, the Monte Generoso Railway , initiated by Pasta, was opened, a narrow-gauge rack railway from Capolago to Monte Generoso . The intermediate station Bellavista was a little above the hotel. Pasta wanted to make the arrival and departure as pleasant as possible for its guests. For this reason, he had the Bellavista Tramway built, which began operating on September 1, 1891.
The single-track line, around 400 m long, had a track width of 600 mm. From the coach house next to the Bellavista station it led in a wide arc through the forest to the hotel, overcoming a height difference of 14 m. The track was laid like a field railway without a ballast bed on a wide substructure that could also be used by pedestrians. There were no switches and no siding to the Monte Generoso Railway. A horse pulled the only carriage (with twelve seats) on the ascent to the station. The slight gradient was used for the descent, with a hotel employee regulating the speed with the handbrake. The horse was either tied to the back of the wagon or went back alone to the stable next to the hotel.
After Bellavista was opened up by a road in 1938, the horse-drawn tram ceased operations. The hotel closed in 1974 and then fell into ruin. The former route is accessible as a footpath along its entire length. The Remise serves as a station restaurant.
Web links
- Tramway Bellavista (TB) In: discontinued-bahnen.ch by Jürg Ehrbar
